In His Bed (18+)

Chapter 16

"Baby, you're worth it."

Warmth flushed through me, and I bit my lip. "Look, just sleep on it, okay? In the morning, if you still want to spend this kind of money just to get me off-"

"-get us off..." he interjected.

"-get us off," I conceded, "then fine. But you're going overboard, and there's no way I'm letting you buy all of that without giving it some thought first, okay?"

"Okay. But all that's going to happen is that I'm going to talk myself into buying that bondage kit."

Rolling my eyes, I groaned, "There was nothing in that kit that couldn't be improvised from stuff around this house."

"But that heart-shaped paddle was so cutesy." He teased.

"And if you smacked me on the ass with a spatula, it would feel exactly the same."

His lips caressed the curve of my neck. "Want to find out?"

YES-

I was about 0.5 seconds away from running into the kitchen when the doorbell rang.

"And that's the food." Pressing a kiss into my hair, he climbed off of the bed. "Throw some clothes on, I'll meet you in the kitchen."

My hair was still damp as I padded into the living room, the warm, spicy aroma of Thai food perfuming the air.

Jason glanced up. "Why don't you find something to watch? I'll get this set up."

Walking over to the coffee table, I picked up the remote, pulling up Netflix and browsing the options.

"How do you feel about horror movies?" I asked.

"Fine, as long as they're not too gory – can't stomach that while I'm eating."

"Got it." Clicking on my selection, I tossed the remote down on the couch and walked to the buffet that Jason had set up.

"Okay, so this is Pad Thai – classic, not spicy, but still very tasty. This," he pointed toward a noodle soup with a creamy orange broth, "is Khao Soi – coconut curry soup. It's got some spice, but the coconut helps mellow it out. Then this" he pulled the remaining takeout box closer to him, "this is Drunken Noodles – solidly spicy, but still has great flavors beyond the spice. This is my absolute favorite, and I will be eating most of it."

I smirked, "Those sound like fighting words."

"I'm serious – you can try this, but it's mine."

Later, after I finished off the Drunken Noodles, we were sharing some mango sticky rice while Freddy Krueger sliced up teenagers on screen.

Sitting on the couch with my feet up on the coffee table, I complained to Jason. "I still cannot believe that they're supposed to be fifteen."

He shifted behind me and took the rice from my hand. "It was a different time."

"Please – there's no way that any of those actors are under twenty."

"This isn't 'IT' – it was supposed to be a one-off slasher movie. Nobody expected it to become a major franchise, and they probably weren't willing to spend child actor money on it."

"Okay, fine. But did they have to write them as fifteen-year-olds?"

"Yeah," he chuckled, "That was a bad move."

"See? I make good points sometimes." I snatched the sticky rice from Jason, "anyway, Nancy's actress is super pretty and all, but I want to condition her hair and teach her how to close her fucking lips."

"What, you don't like constantly being able to see her front teeth?" Jason joked.

"It's a weird acting choice, that's all I'm saying."

He shrugged, "Maybe they thought it made her look younger."

I swallowed, savoring the tang of the mango and the light sweetness of the coconut milk. "Maybe. Still weird."

"Still weird." He agreed.

"So," I asked, finishing up the rice, "what do you want to watch after this?"

"I don't know – it's up to you."

I yawned, "If I stay awake that long. Watching a movie where the main character is desperately trying to not sleep is oddly draining."

"What? You're tired?" Jason laughed behind me, and I felt it rumble through his chest. "It's not like you did anything particularly strenuous or exhausting today..." His lips grazed the edge of my ear. "...twice."

Setting the container aside, I turned, "Keep that up and we'll make it three."

He grinned against my cheek. "Promise?"

I woke in the tainted light of 2:00 am, when the yellow tinge of the streetlamps discolors the true blackness of the night.

Next to me, Jason lay asleep, sprawled out and gloriously naked from our post-movie exertions.

I knew that I could wake him for more, but as I watched him, he looked too peaceful to disturb.

A little late to start caring about disturbing his peace.

It stung, but I couldn't deny the truth.

If he ever found out what drew me to his bed that night, if Faith ever found out that I'd been in his bed at all...

As his chest slowly rose and fell with his breathing, I struggled with the realization of how much I could hurt this man.

And, as I felt the sharp, stabbing pain in my heart, I knew that I wouldn't.

I couldn't.

He's too important to me.